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Fake History: From Mozart's Murder to Cleopatra's Asp
Fake History is an entertaining romp through the centuries, uncovering the fundamental inaccuracies and misleading parts of our past.
As Napoleon himself once said, 'History is a version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.' Noted down in historical documents, copied and widely repeated, it doesn't take long for a version of the truth to become accepted as fact. But who invents these false accounts in the first place, and why do they gain traction so quickly?
Far from concerning the obscure and insignificant parts of our history, these fundamental inaccuracies and downright lies color the depiction of many of those pivotal characters and events we learned about at school. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Joan of Arc; most of us could reel off a fact or two about each. But as this intriguing book reveals, a closer examination of these core parts of our social and political history shows that often all was not as it seemed, and that the agendas of those responsible for recording these events had a huge impact on what was reported and what was covered up.
Perfect
• Fans of quirky historical facts
• Readers looking for a different, entertaining look at history
As Napoleon himself once said, 'History is a version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.' Noted down in historical documents, copied and widely repeated, it doesn't take long for a version of the truth to become accepted as fact. But who invents these false accounts in the first place, and why do they gain traction so quickly?
Far from concerning the obscure and insignificant parts of our history, these fundamental inaccuracies and downright lies color the depiction of many of those pivotal characters and events we learned about at school. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Joan of Arc; most of us could reel off a fact or two about each. But as this intriguing book reveals, a closer examination of these core parts of our social and political history shows that often all was not as it seemed, and that the agendas of those responsible for recording these events had a huge impact on what was reported and what was covered up.
Perfect
• Fans of quirky historical facts
• Readers looking for a different, entertaining look at history
- GenresNonfictionHistory
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2021
73 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 2, 2024
Decent book, quick explanations. Only issue was sometimes felt like the use of language made it harder to read for a novice to reading historic literature.
December 22, 2025
Fun and informative. Makes me questions everything I was taught in History class.
February 27, 2024
Interesting but a bit disappointing.
The author reveals the true details of parts of history that we didn't learn properly in school. Or, at least, he questions what we have been taught as the truth.
Example: What we know about Marco Polo´s travel comes from his memoirs but how accurate are they? Did he really travel to China? Some say no. Some of his "recollections" of China are incorrect and he omits telling of some of the opulence of Chinese cities he claims to have visited.
Other historical facts that the author questioned: Who built the Pyramids of Egypt? Did Captain Cook really "discover" Australia? Who "discovered" America? The Spanish Inquisition was not all that brutal; the lawyers demanded proof before a suspect was found guilty. The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson was a military disaster.
Interesting but some of the history I didn't even know like the death of General Gordon. Who was he?
Interesting.
The author reveals the true details of parts of history that we didn't learn properly in school. Or, at least, he questions what we have been taught as the truth.
Example: What we know about Marco Polo´s travel comes from his memoirs but how accurate are they? Did he really travel to China? Some say no. Some of his "recollections" of China are incorrect and he omits telling of some of the opulence of Chinese cities he claims to have visited.
Other historical facts that the author questioned: Who built the Pyramids of Egypt? Did Captain Cook really "discover" Australia? Who "discovered" America? The Spanish Inquisition was not all that brutal; the lawyers demanded proof before a suspect was found guilty. The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson was a military disaster.
Interesting but some of the history I didn't even know like the death of General Gordon. Who was he?
Interesting.
July 17, 2021
Who knew that David Lloyd George was a Labour prime minister? According to Graeme Donald he was. Oops! Given that the first Labour prime minister was Ramsay MacDonald (a few years after DLG was in the role) and that David Lloyd George was a Liberal, it does make you wonder how thoroughly the author checked his facts, when such a glaring error is published?
As for the rest of the book, it was a middle of the road three stars for me
As for the rest of the book, it was a middle of the road three stars for me
September 25, 2024
Not sure how true the actual history we learnt is ( as most would agree) but also not sure how true everything in this book is either!! The book is thought provoking and interesting but does not really contain enough sound evidence backed by reliable sources to prove anything.
May 30, 2024
Fake History: From Mozart's Murder to Cleopatra's Asp by Graeme Donald.
This book covers 28 different people/events "facts" from history that upon further study may or may not be exactly true.
The positives: The book has good curb appeal, is divided into sections, each historical fact being covered is written in 10 pages or less; all good choices by the author. Some of the people/events were interesting to read about.
The negatives: There are a few people/events that I was unfamiliar with so I had to do a quick online search to discover what the author was referring to. Some of the writing felt more like I was reading a list of facts stung together in a paragraph. As I was reading I wasn't always sure I was understanding what the author was trying to tell me. Also, one thing that didn't work for me was that the Bibliography was a short page and a half long listing just 23 items, with some of the people/events represented by more than one item and some represented by none. It makes me wonder how deep the research was for this book.
Overall, parts of the book were interesting and well done, some parts not. I gave this 3 stars.
This book covers 28 different people/events "facts" from history that upon further study may or may not be exactly true.
The positives: The book has good curb appeal, is divided into sections, each historical fact being covered is written in 10 pages or less; all good choices by the author. Some of the people/events were interesting to read about.
The negatives: There are a few people/events that I was unfamiliar with so I had to do a quick online search to discover what the author was referring to. Some of the writing felt more like I was reading a list of facts stung together in a paragraph. As I was reading I wasn't always sure I was understanding what the author was trying to tell me. Also, one thing that didn't work for me was that the Bibliography was a short page and a half long listing just 23 items, with some of the people/events represented by more than one item and some represented by none. It makes me wonder how deep the research was for this book.
Overall, parts of the book were interesting and well done, some parts not. I gave this 3 stars.
January 9, 2024
A Christmas present from my daughter and perhaps something I may not otherwise have read but I would have missed gem. This is a thoroughly enjoyable and, at times, thought provoking book.. There ARE a few fairly questionable uses of statistics and figures when 'the legend' is compared to other aspects of a period which I found slightly annoying - and to be honest, unnecessary for teh author to make his case - but ignoring those this is excellent, albeit that thee are some silly errors that should have been picked up by an Editor. The 'Chapter' on Joan of Arc alone makes this book worth buying.
Thoroughly Enjoyable!
Thoroughly Enjoyable!
November 10, 2021
Some interesting stories but a book like this should have more than a two-page bibliography. It appears Donald has just provided one-chapter summaries of a couple dozen books he read. Each chapter doesn't appear to have more than one source in the bibliography.
March 18, 2022
Donald tackles popular historical myths and looks at the evidence to present a more realistic view. It certainly makes you rethink some of the facts you've always believed. This is presented in shortish chapters so you can dip in and out of it.
December 3, 2024
Fine if not a bit dull. Purchases from the British museum and a pleasant enough book to pick up and put down randomly without ever feeling like I’m missing something. Some fun details about European history we don’t get as much in us schools but overall a bit of a 30k ft view instead.
November 26, 2022
I really enjoyed this. It's well written, and has a mix of things I had heard about and some i hasn't.
April 20, 2023
Quick, entertaining read with new views of historical events. Particularly enjoyed the new thesis on the pyramids.
July 1, 2023
Many myths I was unfamiliar with, mostly British. Some were interesting, others not.
October 20, 2024
2.5⭐️
was interesting, but didn’t love it as much as i thought i would
was interesting, but didn’t love it as much as i thought i would
February 12, 2025
would you believe it
Great book very informative and well written,lots of myths explained and rewrites history or so it would seem but who knows
Great book very informative and well written,lots of myths explained and rewrites history or so it would seem but who knows
February 18, 2025
This was a very interesting read. His take on how the Great Pyramid in Egypt was built left me pondering for days.
January 30, 2026
Great read, definitely informative of things I had no clue about. Definitely makes me question in want to read more!
November 17, 2025
I picked this up from the British museum. It was a very enjoyable bedtime read.
June 13, 2022
Some interesting stories, some that are not. Some things which felt totally fresh and shocking to me (like Rasputin) and some that felt a bit overdone (Columbus). Admittedly, that could be down to me and the media I've consumed in my life before reading this book. The structure as a stream of unrelated chapters mean that it would be easy to skip bits a reader would consider boring (not what I did) which would help remedy the issue of things not feeling "fresh".
Overall it was a book I enjoyed though it was tedious at times and I feel I understand some historical events much better now. 4* is generous but it does just sit on the boundary between that and a 3.
71/100
Overall it was a book I enjoyed though it was tedious at times and I feel I understand some historical events much better now. 4* is generous but it does just sit on the boundary between that and a 3.
71/100
December 30, 2025
This is a great book for reading in the bathroom or just before bed, or while waiting in doctors’ offices. It’s made up of little chapters and easily digestible material. Sometimes, the author points out something interesting that could lead to further reading.
I enjoyed the book in spite of its mild, “um, actually,” tone. What’s more fun, after all, than being the one person at a party who knows Cleopatra could not have been killed by an asp?
The book is fun, but I might take a few of the author’s pronouncements with a grain of salt.
I enjoyed the book in spite of its mild, “um, actually,” tone. What’s more fun, after all, than being the one person at a party who knows Cleopatra could not have been killed by an asp?
The book is fun, but I might take a few of the author’s pronouncements with a grain of salt.
January 9, 2026
I had a wild ride with this one. The bibliography is usually one book per chapter, sometimes 2 so that gives me some pause. This did bring to light moments that I hadn't really given thought to. Marco Polo and Joan of Arc were very interesting and probably the most controversial so have not made up my mind on what is fake or not. Even non-“fake” details of the stories had surprising details. The arguments are well presented so it's easy to get caught up the argument presented.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews